Author: it162249

‘On Her Shoulders’ is a documentary about 23 yo Nadia Murad and her journey to spreading awareness about the 2014 genocide of Yazidis in Northern Iraq. She was a prisoner of ISIS who escaped and was one of their many young sex slaves. She travels around the world doing interviews and going on talk shows to talk about her experiences to spread awareness and to try and make a difference for her community. This documentary follows her throughout the process up to the day she gives her testimony at the general assembly of the UN.

This piece is so powerful and so relevant to the field of journalism because it not only follows a young woman who was never meant to be an activist or public figure but it exposes a negative side of media and journalism that needs to be addressed. She was a simple girl from the village who had her life taken from her and made the decision to dedicate her life to try and make a difference for her community. But why I say it is so relevant to the field of journalism is because this doc exposes how sometimes journalists and media focuses attention on irrelevant aspects of a situation and hone in on one specific thing that may be the easier option to draw the attention on the public rather than on what is the real point. And  it also sheds light on how as journalists, we need to truly try and understand stories that are being told and the people which are sharing these stories. Yes, it is important to get the story, yet we have a duty to protect those who are sharing and be sensitive to their situation and tread lightly.  I don’t want to go into detail and elaborate further because then I will give it away. This is a documentary that anyone going into the field needs to watch and really needs to take into consideration for their future journalistic endeavors.

 

The visual poem that I am envisioning is a video story of the transition of a Transvestite from man to woman or vise versa. The video will be to the song Danse Macabre – Camille Saint-Saëns which is a very dramatically composed song; it has a very soft and short introduction to the song and quickly goes into a very dramatic tune. I would like to shoot in a manor with a dramatic presentation. I think I will experiment with the more dreamy film setting to see if I could achieve the look that I want.

I want the lighting to be very dim and selective. I envision a a very dark toned video though with a lot of color. I think I will open the scene with a close up on his/her hands running through all the colorful dresses in the wardrobe and cut to a shot where it’s just an explosion of clothes (similar to the scene in the Gatsby where she’s throwing his shirts from the second floor). I will then do close up shots of the application of make up as if it were a dramatic painter dressing a canvas. I will hold off on revealing a face or a person for that matter and stick with close ups for the majority of the video.

The mission is to tell a story without (dialogue) with a dramatic presentation.

 

This is videographer came to my mind quickly after I heard to post a inspiring video. I came across his videos some years ago and have since followed his work. Not only this video, but most of his videos I really admire. He brings you to the countries he’s visited with his incredible camera work and his even better editing skills. I like the way he uses natural sounds of each country and culture and finds a way to incorporate it smoothly; his transitions of shots are unreal. And just having seen his progression in his videos over the years gives me hope… HA!